Massaging and cleaning dental syringe



Jan. 7, 1969 KALBFELD MASSAGING AND CLEANING DENTAL SYRINGE Sheet FiledNov. 17. 1966 r l I III [/1] I 7 INVENTCR J20 1454455542 Aq o fim-zvJan. 7, 1969 J. w. KALBFELD MASSAGING AND CLEANING DENTAL SYRINGE Sheet2 of 5 Filed Nov. 17, 1966 l t 4 T q INVENTOR J/ar 4245, 540

BY m 6 (57.: ATTORNEY Jan. 7, 1969 J. w. KALBFELD MASSAGING AND CLEANINGDENTAL SYRINGE Sheet Filed Nov. 17, 1966 INVENTOR (/464164Z5F6ZD UnitcdStates Patent 9 Claims The present invention relates generally toimprovements in treating devices and methods, and it relatesparticularly to an improved dental cleaning and gum massaging apparatusand method employing a pulsating water jet.

The use of pulsating jets of water for the treatment of the oral cavity,particularly for massaging the gums and cleaning the teeth, is wellknown. Pulse frequencies from several hundred to many thousands ofcycles per minute have been efiectively employed; however, the pulsatingjet cleaning and massaging devices heretofore available possess numerousdrawbacks and disadvantages. Among those drawbacks are theirinconvenience, lack of versatility and inefiiciency.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to providean improved oral cleaning apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved dentalcleaning and gum massaging apparatus and method.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatusof the above nature characterized by its efiiciency, reliability andconvenience of use.

The above and other objects of the present invention will becomeapparent from a reading of the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front partially fragmentary view of an apparatus embodyingthe present invention, illustrated in an erected position;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view thereof taken along line 22 inFIGURE 3;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 33 in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 in FIGURES l and 3;

FIGURE 5 is a front elevational view of the reservoir, pump and nozzlesections in extended positions;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical sectional view of the nozzle handle asembly shownin a nozzle valve closed position;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 in FIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 6 shown in a nozzle valve openposition.

In a sense, the present invention contemplates the provision of a devicefor cleaning and massaging the oral cavity comprising a nozzle, a sourceof liquid, and pump means connected between said nozzle and said sourceof liquid for periodically delivering said liquid under pressure to saidnozzle for predetermined intervals separated by dormant intervals, theperiod of the dormant interval being at least twice that of the deliveryinterval.

According to a preferred form of the present apparatus the pump means isa piston pump driven through a quick return motion translating mechanismby an electric motor so that the quick return stroke of the motiontranslating mechanism drives the pump piston in its advance or pressurestroke. The pump and drive are housed in a casing, and the pump has itsinlet connected to an open topped tank separably mounted on the casing.The pump outlet is connected by way of an adjustable throttle valve anda tube to the nozzle through a three way valve housed in the nozzlehandle, the valve having outlets connected to the nozzle and to areservoir return tube, the outlets being selectively opened.

Another feature of the present invention resides in the provision of athree way valve which comprises a valve housing including a first endwall and a side wall, and provided with an inlet port, a first outletport in said end wall and a second outlet port in said side wall, avalve member positioned in said housing and resiliently longitudinallyurged toward a position with a first end face thereof in closingengagement with said first outlet port and a side face spaced from andexposing said outlet port and swingable about said housing end wall to aposition opening said first outlet port and closing said second outletport, and a manipulatable member projecting through said valve housinginto engagement with said valve member for controlling said valvemember.

Referring now to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodimentof the present invention, reference numeral 10 generally designates thepump and reservoir section which is connected by way of a pair of sideby side joined flexible tubes 11 and 12 to a nozzle section 13, tubes 11and 12 being of the self collapsing helically biased type and beingseparated at their inner ends. The pump and reservoir section 10comprises a molded plastic multipart casing 14 in which a pump, motor,drive and control are housed, and an open topped tank or reservoir 17which is separably mounted atop casing 14 and alternatively functions asa casing closure cap.

Casing 14 includes a top wall 18 provided with a circular aperture, abottom wall 19, a sidewall 20 at one end thereof and is provided with atube and nozzle handle open ended housing cavity 21 in the opposite endthereof which is defined by an end wall 22, a stepped platform wall 23positioned above bottom wall 19 and front and rear walls 24. A saddle 25is formed in the bottom rear of cavity 21 to support the contractedtubes 11 and 12. Pivoted to an end of the lower outer section ofplatform wall 23 is a horizontally swingable arm 26 provided adjacentits free end with an upstanding projection or pin 27 for releasablyengaging the nozzle handle. In order to house a plurality of nozzleelements a ledge 28 is located along the lower front part of the casing14 and is provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced sockets 29.

The pump and drive assembly 16 is mounted on casing bottom wall 19 andincludes a mounting frame 30, an electric motor 32 secured to themounting frame 30, a quick return motion translating mechanism 33 and apump 34 suitably rigidly associated with motor 32. Motor 32 is of anyconventional type and is connected by way of a switch 36 supported bythe mounting frame 30 to a power cord for connecting the motor 32 to asource of energizing current, the switch 36 being provided with acontrol button 37 projecting through an opening slot in the casing andwall 20.

Pump 34 is of the conventional piston type and includes a verticalcylinder 38 provided with a cooperating vertically slidable pistonhaving a piston rod 39 depending from and connected thereto andrestricted with the piston to an axial vertical movement. As isconventional, piston pump 38 has an inlet and an outlet provided withcheck valves permitting the flow of fluid only into the inlet and out ofthe outlet. An open topped tubular coupling member 40 projects upwardlyfrom the pump cylinder 38 and communicates with the pump inlet, coupling40 registering with and engaging the circular aperture in casing upperwall 18. The inner end of tube 11 is connected by means of a suitablecoupling 42 and by way of a flow adjusting or throttle valve 43 to theoutlet of pump 34. Valve 43 includes a valve housing integrally formedwith pump cylinder 40 and is of any conventional construction, and isprovided with a rotatable threaded valve stem 44 engaging a tappedsection of the valve 43 and having an axial adjusting shaft 46 engagedby a knob 47 which projects through an aperture in casing wall 14. Thusthe back pressure to the pump 34, and hence the liquid outlet flow, maybe adjusted by means of the valve 43.

An essential feature of the present apparatus is the manner in whichpiston pump 34 is driven whereby the interval or time of the forward orpressure stroke thereof is only a minor fraction of the time of the fullcycle thereof, that is the time between identical points on the pumpcycle so that the pump delivery interval is less than, andadvantageously less than half of the pump nondelivery or dormantinterval. This mode of operation is advantageously effected by couplingpiston rod 39 to the motor 32 by way of the quick return transmission33, transmission 33 being so coupled to piston rod 39' and so driventhat the quick return stroke of transmission 33 corresponds to thepressure or advance stroke of piston rod 39.

Specifically, transmission 33 includes a housing 48 having an opening inits upper wall through which piston rod 39 projects. Drive shaft 49 ofmotor 32 projects into housing 48 through an end wall thereof and hasafiixed thereto a pinion gear 50 located in housing 48. Gear 50 engagesa larger gear 51 mounted on a shaft 52 and having rotatable therewith asmaller gear 53, Gear 53 is coupled to a large gear 54 mounted on ashaft 58 by way of an intermediate idler gear 56, gears 50, 51, 53, 56and 54 defining a gear reducing train from motor shaft 49 to gear 54.

A guide sleeve 57 is eccentrically mounted on gear 54 and is rotatableabout a central diametric axis thereof parallel to shaft 58. Secured topiston rod 39 is a block 59 having formed therein a transverse channel63 slidably engaging a bar 64 which has pivoted thereto one end of aconnecting rod 60. The rod 60 slidably engages sleeve 57 and is pivotedbetween its ends by a fixed pin 61. Motor shaft 49 is rotated in adirection to rotate the gear 54 clockwise as viewed in FIGURE 2, wherebythe pressure stroke interval of the piston rod 39 is a minor fraction,advantageously between /3 and A and preferably about /1 of a singlerotation of gear 54, and hence of a full cycle of pump 34. The intervalof the pressure stroke of piston rod 39 is advantageously between .025and .075 second. Moreover, the speed of the motor is such that pump 34is operated at between 200 and 580 cycles per minute, perferably between530 and 580 cycles per minute. The dormant or non-pressure interval ofpump 34 should be between .077 and .225 second and advantageouslybetween .077 and .085 second. It should he noted that the pump frequencyand pressure and dormant intervals may be adjusted by varying the pumpback pressure by means of valve 43. Moreover, while quick returnmechanism 33 described above may be employed to great advantage, othertypes of quick return mechanisms may be employed including cams and thelike.

Nozzle section 13 includes a tubular hollow handle or valve housing 65having a slightly upwardly tapered peripheral wall 66, closed at itsbottom end by a correspondingly tapered cup shaped plug 67. Plug 67includes an inner end wall 68 having an upwardly directed axialprojection 69, and is provided with a depending axial socket 70 adaptedto engage mounting projection 27. An end partition 71 is positionedbelow the upper edge of peripheral wall 66 and defines, with the upperborder of the wall 66, a nozzle engaging socket. Partition 71 isprovided with a central opening 72 defining a valve first outlet portand is surrounded by a bottom tapered peripheral border 75. Integrallyformed with wall 66 below partition 71 is a block 73 having upper andlower radial bores 74 and 76 formed therein communicating with theinterior of valve housing 65 and defining a second outlet port and aninlet port respectively. The outer end of pipe 11 is connected to inletport 76 and the outer end of pipe 12 is connected to outlet port 74 inany suitable manner.

Located in valve housing 65 is a longitudinally extending valve member77 including a relatively rigid axially extending body member 78 shorterand of lesser diameter than the minimum inside diameter of valve housing65 and having a depending axial projection 79 corresponding to bottomprojection 69. A disc-shaped washer orgasket 80 of an elastomericmaterial and of the diameter of the upper edge of border 75 is afiixedto the upper end face of valve body 78, and a tubular sleeve 81 of anelastomeric material encircles body member 78 at the level of the outletport 74. A helical compression spring 82 has its opposite ends engagingprojections 69 and 79 and is entrapped between the confronting faces ofthe valve body member 78 and plug end wall 68 to resiliently urge valvemember 77 axially into closing engagement with first outlet port 72 andto maintain the valve sleeve 81 out of engagement with outlet port 74.

A radially projecting tapped collar 83 having an inner peripheralshoulder 84 is integrally formed with peripheral wall 66 at the level ofand opposite outlet port 74. A sealing disc 86 of elastomeric materialnests in collar 83 and rests on shoulder 84 and is provided with aninwardly directed integrally formed axial projection 87 which bears onsleeve 81. Screw engaging collar 83 is a cup shaped plug 88 having acentrally apertured end wall 89. An axial push button 90 projectsthrough apertured end wall 89 and terminates at its inner end in anenlarged circular base 91 which slideably registers with plug 88 and isprovided with an axial inwardly directed projection 92 bearing centrallyon the outer face of elastomeric disc 86. Thus, depression of pushbutton 90 effects the inward movement of the projections 92 and 87 andthe deformation of disc 86 thereby to switch valve member 77 from theposition shown in FIGURE 6 in which outlet port 72 is closed and outletport 74 is open to the position shown in FIGURE 8 wherein outlet port 72is open and outlet port 74 closed. Release of button 90 under theinfluence of the spring 82 and the differential hydraulic pressure andarea effects the return of valve member 77 to the position shown inFIGURE 6.

A replaceable nozzle unit 94 includes an elongated tubular shank 96terminating at its outer end in an angulated outlet section 97 having atransversely directed outlet nozzle opening 98. The inner end of tubularshank 96 has afiixed thereto an axially bored plug 99 formed of anelastomeric material, and releasably engages the upper socket of thehandle member 65 to permit the replaceable coupling of a nozzle unit 94to the handle member 65 in communication with the valve outlet port 72and prevent separation thereof under operating conditions. Plug 99 isprovided with an enlarged peripheral head 100 to facilitate themanipulation thereof.

The tank 17 includes a fiat rectangular bottom wall 101 of thedimensions of the top surface of casing 14, said wall 101 having adepending peripheral lip 102 which engages the casing upper border toproperly position tank 17 on casing 14 in the erected position of theapparatus. The peripheral wall of tank 17 is upwardly outwardly taperedso that the inverted tank can serve as a mating cover for the loadedcasing 14 to facilitate the storage of the apparatus. Formed in thebottom wall 101 is a depending tubular coupling nipple 103 whichprojects through the aperture in casing wall 18 and releasably engagespump coupling 40. An elastomeric O-ring 104 registers with a peripheralgroove in the nipple 103 to provide a water tight connection between thetank 17 and pump 34.

Considering now the operation of the apparatus described above, in thestored condition tubes 11, 12 are retracted into a helix nesting incavity 21, while the nozzle handle, with the nozzle detached, is mountedon the pin 27 and arm 26 is swung inwardly, as shown in FIGURES 1 to 4of the drawings. Nozzle elements 94 are positioned in the cavities 29and the inverted tank 17 is applied as a cover over and encloses casing14.

In employing the appaartus, the inverted tank 17 is raised from thecasing 14, erected and mounted on the casing 14 with the nipple 103 inmating engagement with coupling member 40 and the power cord isconnected to a source of current. Tank 17 is then loaded with water W,the nozzle socket or handle 65 retracted and removed from pin 27, and anozzle element 94 plugged into the handle socket. The inner end of pipe12 is hooked over the upper edge of tank 17 and switch 36 is closed toenergize the motor 32 and drive the pump piston in the manner previouslydescribed with a pressure stroke forming a minor fraction of the pumpcycle. The apparatus is now ready for use, water intermittentlydelivered by pump 34 through the tube 11 into handle 65 being returnedthrough the port 74 and tube 12 to tank 17. Nozzle 94 is then directedtoward the desired area of the oral cavity and button 90 depressed toswing valve member 77 whereby to open port 72 and close port 74. Thewater is thus delivered in intermittent pulses to the nozzle 94 and thearea to be massaged and cleaned is swept by the resulting pulsatingwater jet to effect the massaging of the gums and the cleaning of theteeth.

In order to effect a massaging of the gums, the surface thereof shouldbe periodically compressed and released to permit at least a partialrebound thereof. Inasmuch as the water jet pressure may be quite highthe compression of the jet exposed gum area is effected much morerapidly than a corresponding rebound. Accordingly, a high increase inefficiency is achieved by permitting a longer interval for the gumrebound than for its compression under the influence of the water jet. Afurther increase in efliciency is effected by reason of a decrease inthe loading of the motor 32 since the pump pressure interval isdecreased and a smaller motor consuming less power may be employed.

While there has been described and illustrated a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, it is apparent that numerous alterations,omissions and additions may be made without departing from the spiritthereof.

I claim:

1. A dental treating device comprising a nozzle, a source of liquid, andpump means connected between said nozzle and said source of liquid forperiodically delivering said liquid under pressure to said nozzle forpredetermined intervals separated by dormant intervals, the period ofsaid dormant interval being at least twice that of said deliveryinterval whereby exposure of a gum area to the intermittent liquid jetsfrom said nozzle provides an interval between successive jets allowinggum rebound at least twice the interval during which said gum area isunder jet pressure.

2. The treating device of claim 1, whereby the period of said dormantinterval is at least of a second.

3. The treating device of claim 1, wherein the frequency of said pumpmeans is between 200 and 580 cycles per minute.

4. The treating device of claim 1, wherein the time of said dormantinterval to said delivery interval is between .077 and .225 second.

5. The dental treating device of claim 1, wherein said pump meanscomprises a piston pump and drive means for reciprocating said pistonwith the pressure stroke thereof being less than /3 of the fullreciprocation cycle.

6. The dental treating device of claim 5, wherein said drive meanscomprises an electric motor and a quick return motion translatingmechanism coupling said piston to said motor and oriented and driven toeffect the piston pressure stroke during the quick return stroke of saidmechanism.

7. The dental treating device of claim 1, including a handle supportingsaid nozzle, a three-way valve carried by said handle and including aninlet port and a pair of outlet ports, said pump means including aninlet con-' nected to said source of liquid and an outlet, a first tubeconnecting said pump outlet and said valve inlet port, a. second tubeconnecting a first of said valve outlets to said liquid source, thesecond of said valve outlets being connected to said nozzle, and amanipulatable valve member movable into positions selectively closingsaid valve outlet ports.

8. The dental treating device of claim 7, including spring meansnormally urging said valve member to a position closing said secondoutlet port.

9. The treating device of claim 7, including an adjustable throttlevalve connected between said pump outlet and said first tube.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,995,424 3/1935 Guiness 128230'XR 3,227,158 1/1966 Mattingly 128-66 L. W. TRAPP, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 128234, 273

1. A DENTAL TREATING DEVICE COMPRISING A NOZZLE, A SOURCE OF LIQUID, ANDPUMP MEANS CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID NOZZLE AND SAID SOURCE OF LIQUID FORPERIODICALLY DELIVERING SAID LIQUID UNDER PRESSURE TO SAID NOZZLE FORPREDETERMINED INTERVALS SEPARATED BY DORMAT INTERVALS, THE PERIOD OFSAID DORMANT INTERVAL BEING AT LEAST TWICE THAT OF SAID DELIVERYINTERVAL WHEREBY EXPOSURE OF A GUM AREA TO THE INTERMITTENT LIQUID JETSFROM SAID NOZZLE PROVIDES AN INTERVAL BETWEEN SUCESSIVE JETS ALLOWINGGUM REBOUND AT LEAST TWICE THE INTERVAL DURING WHICH SAID GUM AREA ISUNDER JET PRESSURE.